In this episode of Echoes of Jewish History, I speak with Shane Shmuel — author of I’m That Jew – 82 Years After the Białystok Revolt — about the alarming surge of antisemitism in Australia since October 7.
From swastikas scrawled on synagogues to violent threats against Jewish schools, over 2,000 incidents have been recorded in a single year. What began as remembrance has become urgent resistance, as Jewish families in Sydney and Melbourne ask: At what point do we leave?
We explore:
• How October 7 shattered the illusion of safety for Jews worldwide.
• Why Australia’s Jewish diaspora is now at a breaking point.
• What this crisis reveals about the fragility of Western civilization.
• The haunting parallels between past Jewish exile and today’s fears.
This is more than Australia’s story. It’s a warning to Jews everywhere — from Toronto to Tel Aviv — that silence is complicity, and that the fight for Jewish life is once again a global struggle.
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